Shoe Type Likely Doesn’t Change Horse Movement

A study found little difference in gait between shoes, although shod horses moved differently than barefoot ones.
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Shoe Type Likely Doesn
The study found little difference in gait between shoes, although shod horses moved differently than barefoot ones. | Photo: iStock
If you’re looking to enhance your horse’s gait, you might consider the kinds of shoes you put on him. But results from a new study by Swiss researchers are showing that shoe type probably isn’t going to matter much as far as your horse’s general biomechanics go. Rather, shod horses in general are likely to have more exaggerated gaits than unshod horses.

“The weight of the shoe seems to be what’s causing an effect on horses’ biomechanics above the fetlock, more than the design of the shoe,” said Joëlle Stutz, PhD candidate working under Antonio Cruz, PhD, of the Swiss Institute of Equine Medicine (ISME), at the University of Bern Veterinary School in Switzerland. Stutz presented her work at the 12th annual Swiss Equine Research Day, held April 6 in Avenches.

Stutz, along with Cruz’s research group, investigated the way horses moved when going barefoot or wearing three different kinds of shoes: an egg bar shoe, a rockered toe shoe, or a traditional shoe. They tested the shoes on 10 healthy Franches-Montagne stallions, which wore each kind of shoe (or no shoes) for four consecutive days. The horses worked on a treadmill and in a soft-surface arena while wearing eight inertial movement sensors on their limbs above the fetlocks, hocks, and knees (the researchers wanted to focus on how shoes affect a horse’s movement beyond his feet).

The “novel system” that Cruz’s group is helping develop allows researchers to simultaneously record spatial and temporal gait parameters such as stride duration, knee and hock joint range of motion, and certain angles during each stride, Cruz said

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Passionate about horses and science from the time she was riding her first Shetland Pony in Texas, Christa Lesté-Lasserre writes about scientific research that contributes to a better understanding of all equids. After undergrad studies in science, journalism, and literature, she received a master’s degree in creative writing. Now based in France, she aims to present the most fascinating aspect of equine science: the story it creates. Follow Lesté-Lasserre on Twitter @christalestelas.

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